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KDES
KDES is an NBC affiliate serving Des Moines, Iowa, and the surrounding areas of Des Moines and Ames, IA. Broadcasting on channel 3, KDES is owned and operated by Journal Media Group. KDES was one of two NBC affiliates in the Des Moines area (KVFD was the other) and of the oldest of the two (KVFD signed on in 1981, while KDES signed on in 1954). The reason why there were two NBC affiliates in the market was because the city where KVFD's license is at (Fort Dodge) is to the north of the area, and barely touches Des Moines. In addition to running the NBC schedule, KDES also airs syndicated programming, including Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On June 3, 2016, Journal Media boosted the signal to the point where it would cover all of the Ames/Des Moines market, including Fort Dodge. As a result, KVFD, which was an NBC affiliate, announced that they would leave NBC on Aug. 1 to join MyTV. The station maintains studios located on East 2nd Street in Downtown Des Moines with transmitter located in Alleman, Iowa. History KDES signed on the air on April 15, 1954 as the second television station in Des Moines, after WIOW. It was owned by the Palmer family. It has always been an NBC affiliate. It carried the CBS affiliation until KDTH signed on. In 1978, WIOW and KDES switched affiliates, making KDES an ABC station. As ABC was rising to no. 1, KDES went along for the ride as they became the no. 1 station in the market, In 1986, the two stations switched affiliates again, with ABC going to WDMC, while NBC returned to KDES (WIOW became a FOX affiliate). The Palmers sold off their broadcast holdings in 1996, with KDES going to Journal Media Group. Earlier that year, a joint plan by the Sinclair Broadcast Group and River City Broadcasting to purchase Palmer Communications, the Palmer family's holding company, fell through: Sinclair would have purchased KDES outright However, River City was in the process of being merged into Sinclair, which would have resulted in duopolies, which were at the time prohibited by Federal Communications Commission ownership rules, in Des Moines market. Up to that time, channel 3 had been the last locally owned commercial station in Des Moines. Until the 1980s, KDES frequently preempted ABC, and later NBC programming in favor of local shows. For instance, it didn't pick up Days of Our Lives until the soap's 20th season; in the 1960s and 1970s, the station aired a 90-minute movie between 12:30 and 2 p.m. Since 2000, KDES has given clearance to all NBC programming. In 2003, KDES began airing select UPN programs. KDES aired various UPN programs, most notably Star Trek: Enterprise, from midnight-1:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings and WWE Friday Night SmackDown (then called WWE Smackdown) on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. This lasted until 2006. In 2010, It was announced that UPN would be on KDES' subchannel 3.2, On June 3, 2016, Journal Media boosted KDES' signal to the point where it would cover all of the Ames/Des Moines market, including Fort Dodge causing Fort Dodge's NBC affiliate (KVFD) to leave NBC (KVFD left NBC on Aug. 1, and became a MyTV affiliate). ''You've Got a Friend! ''Lyrics :Harmonies and melodies :The friends we make at times like these :The special moments that we spend :It's good to know you've got a friend :Families and memories :The flavor of communities :KDES shares the whole day through :Bringing Central Iowa home to you :It's good to know you've got a friend :With good times for the times you spend :And may those good times never end :At TV-3... You've Got a Friend! Category:Channel 3 Category:Des Moines Category:Iowa Category:Journal Media Group Category:Television channels and stations established in 1954 Category:NBC affiliated stations Category:Former CBS affiliates Category:Former ABC affiliates